Seventeenth Judicial District - Adams County Court Judge
Honorable Emil A. Rinaldi
Retention Year: 2002
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Emil A. Rinaldi BE RETAINED.
Judge Rinaldi was appointed to the bench in August 1984. Prior to his appointment, Judge Rinaldi was a Deputy District Attorney. He received his undergraduate degree from Binghamton University, New York in 1973, and his law degree from the University of Colorado in 1980. Judge Rinaldi hears predominately criminal cases. He is actively involved in the community, primarily supporting various high school activities.
The Commission reviewed written evaluations of Judge Rinaldi from attorneys and non-attorneys, including written verbatim comments attached to the evaluation questionnaires. The Commission also reviewed a self-evaluation prepared by the judge.
The Commission held a public hearing on April 4, 2002, and no comments were made at the hearing regarding Judge Rinaldi. A citizen did call the Commission chair to voice support for the judge. The Commission completed its evaluation by personally interviewing Judge Rinaldi.
The results of the survey were positive for Judge Rinaldi. Ninety percent of non-attorneys and 76% of attorneys recommended retention. In addition, only 3% of non-attorneys and only 16% of attorneys recommended that Judge Rinaldi not be retained. The remainder of the respondents had no opinion.
The survey results from non-attorneys generally placed Judge Rinaldi at or above survey results for all county and trial judges in the categories of courtesy, impartiality, communication skills, judicial temperament, diligence and application of the law. The written comments from non-attorneys were positive with only a few respondents expressing mild criticisms. The results of the attorney survey ranked Judge Rinaldi consistent with the results for other county and all trial judges. The scores and written comments were generally positive with some criticisms related to courtesy. During his interview, Judge Rinaldi acknowledged the comments and expressed his commitment to improve.
Based on the results of the survey and personal interview, the Commission found Judge Rinaldi to be a competent and fair judge. The Commission recommends that Judge Rinaldi be retained.